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At the age of eight, Spencer Tinkham (b. 1992) discovered the exhilaration that few people achieve in a lifetime. A simple pocketknife, given to him by his grandfather, launched both his passion for creating and his future as an artist. Enthralled by the rich biodiversity that inhabited the water’s edge in Norfolk, Virginia, Spencer’s love for nature was also sparked early on. He realized that through sculpture, he could create lasting mementos of fleeting encounters. Spencer sculpted many readily available household materials- mostly soap bars and wood scraps. His tools were limited and primitive- a pocketknife, a hacksaw, and a pencil. Before Spencer graduated high school, he had already twice-won the Danner Frazer Youth Decorative Wildfowl World Championship.
Spencer has no formal art training and is entirely self-taught. He continues to use primitive tools, which seldom connect to electricity. Spencer mixes his oil paints from pigment powders. Most of his sculptures are still made out of found materials and are wildlife focused. Spencer’s sculptures draw influence from literature, folk art, Modern art, and contemporary art. Spencer is intrigued by the repetition of human behavior over history and uses animal sculpture to help people ponder their impact on the environment and each other. Most recently, Spencer was inducted into the National Sculpture Society as an Associate Member. “To Kill a Mockingbird” was juried into the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson “Birds in Art 2019” museum exhibition. He has work in the Dollar Tree, Inc. corporate art collection, and has sent his sculptures to many private art collections worldwide. Click here for CV
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